Sometimes when I plug my thumb drive in, the unit doesn't recognize it. I have to take it out and plug it in again and again and again and finally it will work. Could this be a problem with the unit making good contact with the flash drive? Or is it a software issue? When I leave it plugged in I usually don't have any problems with it but one time it did quit work while it was plugged in.

 

Could be some dust and dirt in the USB port or the USB stick, here's some direction on cleaning a USB port, it is for a PC , but a port is a port!


Clean a Dusty PC and a Clogged Port | PCWorld

 

I cleaned it with alcohol and a Q-tip. There was a lot of dirt on the Q-tip when I cleaned it. Hopefully that will clear up the problem.

 

If you remove it and plug it back in to a PC and there are never any issues then it is probably the USB port in the head unit. As noted you can clean it and see what happens?

Once it is cleaned and the thumb drive works, buy a short USB extension cord and keep it plugged in to the head unit and seal the plug in with some tape. If you remove the thumb drive from the extension then cover and seal that end so not dirt gets in.

 

I tried this and while it didn't solve the issue, it helped. There was a lot of dirt on the Q-tip. I might try cleaning it more.

That's not a bad idea.